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Change in leadership: Heinz-Otto Peitgen will be the next President of Jacobs University Bremen

Prof. Dr. Heinz-Otto Peitgen

Jacobs University’s Board of Governors elected Prof. Dr. Heinz-Otto Peitgen to be the university’s new President. Heinz-Otto Peitgen, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Medical Image Computing MEVIS and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of MeVis Medical Solutions AG, will be taking over as President of Jacobs University on January 1, 2013. The internationally renowned mathematician and multiple award-winning entrepreneur will succeed Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Joachim Treusch, who has served as President of Jacobs University since July 1, 2006.

June 8, 2012

The career of Jacobs University’s future president Heinz-Otto Peitgen is characterized by an extraordinarily successful combination of science and business experience. At the age of 32, Peitgen received his habilitation in Mathematics at the University of Bonn and was then awarded a professorship at the University of Bremen. There, he played a decisive role in the creation and development of the Institute for Dynamic Systems. Since 1992, Heinz-Otto Peitgen served as both, the founder and director of the Center of Complex Systems and Visualization (CeVis) at the University of Bremen.

Three years later, in 1995, Peitgen founded the non-profit MeVis Research GmbH, which was transformed into an institute of the Fraunhofer Society under the name “Fraunhofer Institute for Medical Image Computing MEVIS” in 2009. In 1997, Peitgen founded a MeVis-spin-off company together with some of his colleagues: MeVis Medical Solutions AG (MMS) has been listed at the German stock market since 2007. MMS is one of the world’s leading producers of software products for image-based medicine, particularly for breast and lung cancer diagnosis. It also offers services in the domain of liver surgery.

Professor Peitgen has received numerous academic honors and awards. He is a member of the Academy of Science in Göttingen and of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and has held visiting professorships at universities in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, the USA, and Italy. In 1996, Peitgen was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit First Class of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Third President of Jacobs University

During the meeting of the Board of Governors, the supervisory body of Jacobs University, Chairwoman Prof. Dr. Karin Lochte pointed out Jacobs University’s impressive balance of teaching and research achievements and assured its future president and managing director of the board’s active support in the private university’s further development: “Heinz-Otto Peitgen has not only substantially contributed to the founding of Jacobs University in 2001, but has also given us the benefit of his advice throughout all these years. We will all support him in his new responsibilities for the welfare of our university,” said Karin Lochte. Similarly, Joachim Treusch also wished the president-elect much success and good fortune in his future endeavors: “All members of the university are as delighted as I am about this excellent choice and the fact that the leadership of this academically outstanding and unique intercultural institution will be left in the hands of Heinz-Otto Peitgen,” said Joachim Treusch.

After Fritz Schaumann (1998 – 2006) and Joachim Treusch (2006 – 31/12/2012), Heinz-Otto Peitgen will be the third President of Jacobs University.
Dr. Joh. Christian Jacobs, Chairman of the Jacobs Foundation, summarized the selection committee’s reasoning behind this appointment as follows: “In Heinz-Otto Peitgen we have found an exceptional successor for Joachim Treusch. Jacobs University has succeeded in giving charge of its future development to a man, who embodies the successful combination of scientific excellence and social responsibility in a perfect way. Internationally highly acclaimed both – as a scientist and as an entrepreneur–, his professional life is exemplary for the dialogue and transfer of knowledge between the worlds of science and business. Professor Peitgen’s broadly based knowledge, the scope of his professional experience, his internationality, but also his local roots and networking strength in Bremen will be enormous assets in ensuring the continuity of the success and ongoing dynamic institutional development of Jacobs University.”

Background information on the election of the President:
At Jacobs University, the election of a new President lies within the purview of the Board of Governors, which fulfills the function of a supervisory board and is composed of representatives of the scientific, business and social communities. Prof. Dr. Karin Lochte, climate researcher and director of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, has chaired the board since 2008.

The twelve members of the Selection Committee appointed by the Board of Governors organized the selection process.
The Committee members are: